It's all or nothing for Bruins in Game 7

Wednesday

May 14, 2014 at 2:00 AM

BOSTON — Torey Krug gathered the puck from Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in his defensive corner and pivoted to see the whole ice. Krug always wants to jump-start an attack, make a quick transition into the offensive zone.

Dan Cagen

BOSTON — Torey Krug gathered the puck from Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in his defensive corner and pivoted to see the whole ice. Krug always wants to jump-start an attack, make a quick transition into the offensive zone.

The rookie defenseman had Matt Fraser on his left and Carl Soderberg up the middle, but neither was available. Montreal Canadiens winger Rene Bourque was in front of Fraser. Center Lars Eller dropped down to take away the Soderberg option. And with Brian Gionta backchecking on Krug, carrying the puck out himself couldn't be considered.

Krug was forced to reverse the puck along the dasher back to defensive partner Kevan Miller on his first shift of Monday's Game 6 at the Bell Centre.

"I think you obviously look at all the options, the check-downs, kind of like a quarterback out there," Krug said. "You look at each receiver and you have nothing, so I went back to Millsy. It's the right play."

It didn't work out. The puck exploded off Miller's backhand, went right to Eller in front as if drawn by a magnet and then into the back of the net. In a series where the first goal has mattered, the Habs had it Monday night. They rolled to a 4-0 victory that secured a Game 7 tonight at TD Garden.

Although it was a bad bounce that led to Eller's goal at 2:11 of the first period — "I guarantee you next time, it's not going to do that," Krug said — it was forced by the Canadiens being the aggressor early. They got in on the Bruins throughout the game, taking away options and forcing a second, third and fourth pass to break out.

The Bruins use the neutral zone as a ramp to their offense, putting pucks in the right areas. After falling behind, they couldn't play at their pace.

"I thought they did a really good job of taking away options," Krug said. "There were a couple times where I thought I was just by myself out there with the puck. I think there's always something you can do with it. We'll make adjustments from that."

The best adjustment is to become the hunter. The team to break the ice with the first goal is 6-0 in this series, 21-1 in this playoff round entering Tuesday night.

"We have to get on the forecheck," Shawn Thornton said. "That's when we're at our best, we know that. We have to put pucks where we can get them back. Hopefully create some momentum for our team. That's our goal."

This series, like the rest in this round of the playoffs, has come down to a simple formula — score first, celebrate at the end. The team with the first goal is 6-0 in this series and 21-1 in the second round across the league entering Tuesday.

Thornton and long-time linemates Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell have a history of providing the spark in the biggest games. The Bruins still talk about how their first-period energy changed Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, when the Canucks came out charging. The Merlot line shifted momentum and the Bruins took the game over and left with the Cup.

But that was a different time. Paille, Campbell and Thornton, reunited in Game 4 after over a month apart, have not been as effective in this series. They have chased the puck. In three games since Paille moved back to the fourth line, they have eight shot attempts, just three on net. They've chased the game rather than initiate it.

"We're not generating too much right now," Paille said.

Regardless of the Merlot line, it'll fall on the Bruins' goal-scorers to finally score goals. Brad Marchand hasn't scored a goal in 19 playoff games. David Krejci has one assist in this series. Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla have no even-strength goals.

"It's tough," Krug said. "I mean, they do such a good job for your team all season long. And you see them go through a little dry spell and you know they're working as hard as they can. That just happens. That's hockey. I know once one goes in, the floodgates will open. And for these guys, I know they're really eager to help the team out."

The Bruins have the Game 7 experience. This is their eighth in seven years, and they've won four of the last five times it's reached this point in a series, including the 2011 first-rounder duel with the Habs. They know they have more to give.

"We've got to go out and we've got to be better and we've got to play our game," Thornton said. "Leave it all out there. Game 7."

Due respect

The Canadiens haven't been quiet since winning Game 6. P.K. Subban noted he wanted to quiet the TD Garden crowd in Game 7, and on Tuesday morning Dale Weise said the Bruins haven't respected the Habs.

"We're going to have to win Game 7 to fully get Boston's respect," the pot-stirring forward said.

"They're a great hockey team, and we're going seven games right now, so you have to respect them," Krug said. "That's just another situation where we focus on ourselves and worry about what's going on in here."

Game 6 ended with a lengthy scrum including Andrei Markov spearing Zdeno Chara in the groin, Chara punching Mike Weaver and Lucic and Iginla going after Weaver.

"This is playoff hockey," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "I don't see anything different from our series and the other series. It's as simple as that. I know we'd like to make more of it, but the tension, the intensity, the rivalry is there, so I think what we're seeing is what we should expect."

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